A “man overboard” occurrence is often an emergency of the highest order. Speed in responding to the emergency is critical. The situation can quickly deteriorate, especially if the person in the water is a non-swimmer, is injured, or is in poor health. Matters can be further complicated by other factors—such as cold water, bad weather, darkness, large waves, a strong current, or a limited/inexperienced crew aboard ship responding to the emergency.
A proper response involves maintaining sight of the overboard individual and providing them with floatation. The victim must then be retrieved from the water and given medical care, if necessary. Thus, three distinct issues arise in a successful rescue operation: (i) marking the person's location in the water; (ii) getting a buoyancy device to the person; and (iii) bringing the person on board.
The prior art offers numerous devices designed to address one or more of these issues. Methods range from relatively simple single-purpose designs, such as life rings or horseshoe buoys for providing floatation, to much more sophisticated items employing water-activated strobe lights, satellite communications, radio wave locator beacons, inflatable buoys or floats, etc. There are also a number of arrangements specifically constructed to facilitate the lifting of a person from the water. All of these items have merit, though the best designs are those that are easily and quickly deployable in an emergency, low maintenance, and reliable.
A familiar apparatus for marking the location of a person in the water is the so-called “man overboard pole,” which consists of a floating cylindrical buoy that is ballasted at one end to keep it oriented in a particular position when in the water. Extending from the end opposite the ballast is a pole or stick, typically made of fiberglass, with a marker flag at the tip. The pole is dropped into the water near the victim to make it easier to keep sight of them.
Though common in use, the man overboard pole is not without problems. The pole is awkward to store and difficult to deploy quickly, especially if the person deploying the pole is also steering the boat while attempting to maintain eyesight of the victim. These defects are exacerbated by the significant weight of the cylindrical buoy (which is necessary to keep the flag end pointed up while floating in water) making it challenging to handle. And the small marker flag is not easy to see, especially when far away or when weather/darkness limits visibility.
Yet, despite these problems, the man over board pole remains a familiar piece of emergency equipment on many vessels.
There are a few derivative devices that attempt to improve on the basic design of the man overboard pole by using, for example, telescoping poles, but none of these methods solves all of the above problems. A marker device that is easier to store and deploy—and that is more visible when in the water—would be a substantial improvement over the man overboard pole and its related arrangements. Further, if the improved marker device could also include floatation for the victim as well as a means for lifting the victim aboard ship, the benefits offered would be substantial. The present invention provides such a water rescue device in a design that is both durable and low maintenance. It offers a completely novel approach to overboard rescue.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings of the preferred embodiments.